Clear Clipboard using Shortcut, CMD or Context Menu in Windows 10/8/7

Windows stores the last copied or cut item in a temporary storage area called the Clipboard memory, till you restart or log off the computer. If you copy or cut something else, the earlier item gets replaced with the new one. For privacy or security purposes, you may at times, feel the need to clear the clipboard memory, to prevent Clipboard Data Theft.

Should you wish and feel the need to clear your clipboard frequently, you can create a desktop shortcut to clear clipboard, or you could add an item to your desktop right-click context menu.

Clear Clipboard using Shortcut

Right-click on the desktop, select New > Shortcut. In the Location box, type the following:

%windir%\System32\cmd /c echo off | clip

Click Next and name the shortcut as Clear Clipboard. Click Finish.

Additionally, you may right-click on this new shortcut and select Properties. Here you could do the following three things if you wish:

Give it a suitable new icon using the Change icon button

Make the windows Run Minimized

Give it a keyboard shortcut key.

Clear Clipboard History using Command Prompt

To clear the Clipboard History using the command line, open CMD.exe and execute the following command:

echo off | clip

Add Clear Clipboard to Context Menu

Open the Registry Editor and navigate to the following key:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Background\

In the left pane, right-click on Shell and select New > Key, and name it Clear Clipboard.

Next, right-click on this newly created Clear Clipboard key, select New > Key and name it Command.

Now in the right pane, double-click on Default, select Modify, and in the Value Data box, give it the following Value Data:

cmd.exe /c echo off | clip

Click OK. Press F5 to refresh the registry and exit it.

You will now see the Clear Clipboard entry in the desktop context menu. You can use it to clear the Clipboard memory.

Anand Khanse is the Admin of TheWindowsClub.com, a 10-year Microsoft MVP Awardee in Windows (2006-16) & a Windows Insider MVP. Please read the entire post & the comments first, create a System Restore Point before making any changes to your system & be careful about any 3rd-party offers while installing freeware.